Casey Connects: Fall 2001

This issue of Casey Connects reflects on the Foundation’s events before and after 9/11 — from an adoption celebration in Washington, D.C., to pledging $3 million in aid for families affected by terrorism. Smaller stories highlight a FAMILIES COUNT gathering and the retirement of Casey financial officer Rama Ramanathan.

In This Report, You’ll Learn

What Casey is doing to help kids and families affected by the 9-11 terrorist attack.

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Why Casey staff will miss retiring Rama Ramanathan.

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How the Casey Center for Effective Child Welfare Practice will help post-adoptive parents.

Key Takeaway

Meeting sheds light on what’s keeping poor families down

A FAMILIES COUNT meeting revealed predatory lending practices by unsavory financial institutions, which sink low-income individuals deeper into debt on the pretext of helping them get loans and make large purchases. The discussion shed light on how to combat these practices and sparked debate about how the Foundation can help grantees become more competent on issues of family economic success.

Findings & Stats

Adoption Celebration

Some 700 parents, children, child welfare professionals, advocates and legislators took part in an uplifting celebration of adoption on Capitol Hill highlighting the need to help these families succeed.

9-11 AID

The Casey Foundation set aside more than $3 million to support, aid and assist the the children and families directly affected by the tragic events of 9/11.

Post-Adoption Stress

In reality adoptive families often have a hard time coping with a child who has had multiple losses or has been abused or neglected.

Rama Respect

During his tenure, the Foundation's Vice President and Chief Financial and Operations Officer Rama Ramanathan became one of the most respected authorities in the world of foundation finance.

Statements & Quotations

Douglas W. Nelson, president of the Foundation, said the Foundation wanted to help ensure that public child-serving agencies in New York and in the Washington, D.C. area had flexible financial resources to respond rapidly to the range of material, psychological and special needs of families victimized by the violence of September 11.

A hallmark of the Casey Foundation’s approach has been finding better and more relevant ways of helping folks get the on-the-ground experience, resources and exposure to new ideas and successful models they need to reach better results for children and families.